RUNS BACK TO TWEED DAYS A SUIT THAT WILLIAM H.
BUCKNAMS WIFE STARTED.
HER HUSBAND RAISED MONEY FOR JAMES H. INGERSOLL
BY COMMITTING ARSON-HOW HIS INTEREST IN CERTAIN
PROPERTY WENT ASTRAY.
A case of unusual Interest is on the calendar to come up in a
special term of the Supreme Court on March 7. It recalls some of
the incidents of the downfall of the Tweed ring, and throws some
new light on the sources of income of some of the members of
that ring when they were hard pushed. The case is an equity
proceeding. The action is commenced by Mrs. Ella H. Bucknam,
wife of William H. Bucknam, to compel Theodore P. Austin, the
present holder of her husband's one-fourth interest in his father's
estate, to turn it over to her.
The ground is taken that this interest was first purchased at
bankruptcy proceedings for the benefit of William H. Bucknam,
his wife and child, and that the present holder purchased it with
knowledge of the fact from William H. Paulding, an agent for
James H. Ingersoll. The attorneys in the case now are: For Mrs.
Bucknam, Guggenheimer & Untermeyer, 46 Wall Street; for
William H. Bucknam, Love & Ryan. Potter Building; for James H.
Ingersoll, Thomas F. Wentworth, 64 Cedar Street.
James H. Ingersoll was one of the men proceeded against in
connection with others of the Tweed ring. He was indicted, found
guilty, and sent to State prison at Auburn for a term of years. At
this time William H. Bucknam appears to have been a very close
friend of Ingersoll's. At any rate, Ingersoll made over to him all his
available personal property, with an apparent view of saving it
from the just operation of the law.
Bucknam was a son of Ezra Bucknam, who died In 1869,
leaving his property In four equal shares to William H. Bucknam
and his three other children. all daughters. This property was
subject to a life interest for his wife, Jane Bucknam. The property
was to be given to the children upon her death, which occurred In
January, 1891. Having in view the case soon to come to trial, the
attorneys a short time ago compelled Bucknam to appear before
a commission and took his testimony.
He said that in 1873 he went into bankruptcy upon his own
application, by the advice of James H. Ingersoll. He said Ingersoll
took care of all his business for him, and even employed counsel
for him. He was not bankrupt at the time, he said, but went into
bankruptcy as a means of saving both himself and Ingersoll. His
right in the estate of his father was estimated at $50,000, and it
was sold for $300 to William H. Paulding, acting as an agent for
Ingersoll, so that it was now alleged that the purchase was made
in the interests of Ingersoll, although at the time both Ingersoll
and Paulding said it was solely for Bucknam's protection.
The intimacy between Bucknam and Ingersoll continued, and
to-day they are us thick as ever. When the criminal proceedings
were brought against Ingersoll he needed money with which to
defend himself. He could not sell or dispose of his property on
account of the various proceedings against him. Then he called
in his friend Bucknam, and according to a statement since made
by Bucknam in the presence of several responsible parties, he
arranged that Bucknam should burn certain buildings belonging
to Ingersoll in order that the insurance might be obtained. The
money thus obtained amounted to some $20,000. Bucknam has
confessed to having burned the country house of Ingersoll.
Bucknam's story, as taken down by R. W. Ryan. an expert
stenographer, on Feb. 25, 1891, is as follows:
"I went. at once to Auburn to see him while he (Ingersoll) was in
prison. They gave me admission readily; that was all fixed. I
came on to New-York and left New-York by the 7 or 8 o'clock
train in the evening. I was told to go to the hotel directly opposite
the gates. I was to go there and register my name, and it would
be all right. I went there. I was told to look rough; to look like a
country farmer. I remember getting my shoes as muddy as I
could, and turning my pants up. I had on the worst looking suit of
clothes I had. I put down my name and the clerk says: 'How do
you do I am glad to see you. Your room is all right up stairs.' He
asked me if I would have something; I said yes. He gave me a
drink. He gave me the morning paper to read and cigars to
smoke. I went to my room. In a little while in came one of the
keepers of the jail He introduced himself to me: Mr. So and So,'
he says, ' you are here to see Mr. Ingersoll '
"I had been told to treat this man well when he came, so I
ordered a bottle or wine and some cigars. He took me in and
introduced me to a keeper. I had a dozen or more letters and
memoranda for Ingersoll. The keeper showed me around. He told
me before I went in to look around a little careless. We passed
the inner gate and went into an inner courtyard. He took me
around and showed me a lot of cells--it was just for effect. He
showed me the horse-collar department. Took me from that into
the store room. Near the corner of that storeroom was a little
cubby hole. He just tapped on the door and said, ' Come in,' and
there was Mr. Ingersoll.
" Ingersoll and I were there an hour or more. I gave him those
letters, and he gave me some to take back. Ingersoll treated the
keepers pretty well. When I went up I took a pair of club skates to
one of the keepers. What Ingersoll wanted to see me for was
about burning his house down. He said: ' Make a sure thing of it.'
"He heard of the fire the very next morning after. I think he
wrote me a letter regretting so much that the place had burned
down; hoped I hadn't suffered any loss myself; sorry to hear that I
had hurt myself. I sprained my leg jumping out of the window. I
was to go to Now-York to see his father, and he would give me
some money for things I wanted right away. Everything I had was
burned up there.
Then I went back there and lived in the farmhouse. I had lost all
my clothing and a double-barreled shotgun. My wife came to
New- York. She knew all about the thing; she know all about what
was to take place. Before the fire I sent a half dozen pictures up
to New-York in my name; they took care of them. I got them
afterward. I sent two or three handsome chairs down worth $75
or $100 apiece. They were all on the inventory. I took an
inventory of everything in the house before the fire. I do not know
whether the father knew about It. The brother knew about It. The
brother is alive now. His name is Moses Ely Ingersoll. He was
one of firm of Pottier & Stymus. He was Treasurer.
" I burned the house from the furnace. Ely sent up a lot of stuff
from the factory. They were packed in big packing boxes. The
object was to send me excelsior. I had a big stock of kerosene. I
got a tremendous fire in the furnace and had it going two days
and piled the excelsior in there like fun. The furnace was built
after the house. The house was built by Gov. Clinton In 1805. We
always claimed, in talking to the insurance men, that it was on
account of those flues connecting between one floor and another.
It was very cold weather and a very windy night. I was all alone in
the house The roof was yellow pine. His object in burning the
house was to raise money. When the fire got going the shingles
flew all over the country. They saw the fire all over the country for
miles and miles."
The remainder of Bucknam's statement concerns his
financial career. He said: "I was married Oct. 30, 1867. Was
then in business with my father at 245 South Street and 479
Water Street. I went out of business in 1871 I think,.and shortly
after went into the express business with the Atlantic and
European Express Company, was in that business a little over a
year, and then went into bankruptcy to save myself. James H.
Ingersoll advised me to.
Under these bankruptcy proceedings my right, title, and interests
in my father's estate were sold at public auction. Thomas F.
Wentworth bid it in for Mr. Ingersoll. It was a put-up job. Ingersoll
was a bosom friend of mine at that time. Since then at times he
has given me money for things I had done for him every week
for expenses."
About the time Ingersoll's country place was burned, three other
pieces of property belonging to him were burned. Two of these
were in this city and one at Portland, near Middletown, Conn.
When asked about those burnings, Bucknam laughed in a way
that might be taken to mean a great variety of things.
Subsequently a lawyer's clerk visited Portland and learned that
Bucknam. was there for some time about the date of the fire.
Bucknam made his statement with the air of a man telling of
honorable actions. He frequently laughed during the recital.
About a year ago Bucknam was sent to Blackwell's Island for a
year for non-support of his wife. Subsequently it appeared that he
was wrongfully imprisoned and was released on a writ of habeas
corpus.
The confession of Bucknam can have only a moral effect upon
the pending cage. The Statute of Limitations prevents his being
brought to trial now. Ingersoll is also clear. But if in such cases
the Statute of Limitations begins only on knowledge of the crime,
it is a question if the insurance companies cannot recover.
Ingersoll could not be found Yesterday. Bucknam could not
be found. It was stated by the attorneys that Bucknam could not
recover any part of the property in question, he having been a
party to the crime.
Article from the New York Times February 28, 1892, Page 16
Submitted by Nellie Voorhees